Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi

I started watching the Benghazi story early on. When four great Americans, who have devoted their lives to their country, are killed in an American Consulate it is an important story. Apparently the only news organization that agreed with me was Fox News. They stayed on the story and did a great job.

The thing about this story that first attracted my attention was that was no logic in the way the government was spinning it. This wasn't about a couple of dozen teens and twenties burning American Flags and trying to climb the wall. This was a group of trained hard cases with AK-47s and RPGs pouring through a hole that had been blown in the wall in a previous attack. 

Why would the ambassador be in a place this dangerous without adequate protection? Why was he there at all? The story about a bunch of Muslims upset about something on You Tube just did not make sense. Then we were told their was a drone overhead. Why? To have a drone overhead at that critical moment proves that the ambassador didn't just drop in for tea. He was on an assigned mission. There are only two people that can assign a mission to an ambassador. They are the Secretary of State or the President.

If he was on a mission and there was a drone overhead, the feed from that drone was being monitored because something important was happening. I am sure that one place monitoring that feed was the White House situation room. That is what they do there. And be sure, the situation room can contact the President 24/7  if he is not on site. An attack on a consulate would surely be of interest to the President.

Next we find that Ambassador Stevens had asked for more security personnel more than once in previous days. He was refused. Once again, if an ambassador requests security and is refused, the Secretary of State must sign off on that. The people were available. It was a dangerous area. Why deny the Ambassador's request?

The administration wanted to give the impression that things were normalizing in Libya. Peace was upon the land and there was no real threat. Bin Laden is dead. The Al Qaeda threat was ended. An increase in security forces would go against that tale. So let the Ambassador suck it up. Every thing is OK.

We soon found out that this was no populist uprising against a dumb movie. It was a full blown attack by an Al Qaeda franchise. The Ambassador was left on his own calling for help. Three times he was denied. I find that a little symbolic. In an attack it is the military's instinct to head toward the cannons. There were those the were anxious to. They were ordered to "stand down". Three brave men broke ranks and did what they knew to be right and lost their lives for lack of support. One single AC-130 Specter gunship, which was available, could have reversed the outcome.  the battle raged for seven hours. The Specter could have been there in one. It was not allowed to fly.

Then we are served with the ultimate of bull excuses. "We don't send in troops until we have a full picture of what is happening." Mr. Secretary of Defense, you have proven to me what I always suspected. You are nothing but a political hack that will say anything to please his masters. Sir, you have no honor. You had a drone overhead and troops on the ground. You had all the information necessary.

In the latest chapter of ongoing malfeasance, an admiral and a general stationed in the mid-east have been relieved of command. It does make one wonder did they push too hard to do the honorable thing in the face of power politics. If all of the press went at this story as hard as Fox has done we might get a broader view of what happened. Until we learn more, all we can do is look at the evidence and see what actions would line up with that evidence. That would be called a circumstantial case. But we can learn a great deal by observing the circumstances. 

Step Into My Tent (Another Fantasy)

Step right into my tent ladies and gentlemen. This show runs continuously. That's it, push right up to the front and listen carefully. We can cure all your ills. We have sought the "Font of all Knowledge" and in searching have found that we are, in fact, that Font. My name is Dr. Obama and I will be your guide as we explore what you need to know and what you must do to assure you and your descendants have futures that will be golden through time immemorial.

The first thing you must understand is that you must enter that meditative state called "suspension of disbelief". As the "Fount of all Knowledge" I will impart my own brand of wisdom that is far to deep and complicated for the mere mortal mind to comprehend. But with my super powers I can impart this wisdom in a form that will be very useful to you. In fact I, in my infinite generosity, will be happy to give each one of you a religious tract that I have written, at no charge, that explains my philosophy in very simple terms that even you simple folks may understand. It is called "A Plan For Jobs & Middle-Class Security".  

Now there are those that will tell you that this looks like the same text that I have been using for the past four years. They all lie. Do not believe that trash talk. This is all new. See? New paper. New ink. New pictures. Therefore, new plan. Besides the old plan really worked well. Look around you and see how much better things are. OK enough looking around. Please stay focused on me. Remember, I am the"Font of all Knowledge". Since this new plan is four years newer than the old plan it is going to work so much better than even that great old plan worked.

There are some that say I am selling snake oil. I did have some snake oil, but I used it all up to grease the rails for green energy. I know that green energy had some problems at first. That was because of a curse by that evil shaman called Bush. We were forced to make sacrifices to get rid of the curse so we gave a lot of your money to 6 or 8 companies that went right down the tube hopefully taking that curse with them. 

There has been a rumor that green technology is not ready for prime time. Do not believe that. As the "Fount  of all Knowledge",  if I say it is so it must be so.

And thank (enter your favorite deity) that the price of fossil fuels has moved so high. It certainly helps to prevent a lot of excess usage. People are driving far less lately. Since a lot of them don't have jobs it becomes a lot easier to get them to not drive. Hey, I'm just glad you folks pay for the gas for that huge limo you gave me to ride around in. You know a round of golf is expensive enough without paying for gas too.

And, of course, we have managed to shut down a few coal mines. Those are dirty jobs anyway and I'm sure the people that were working in the coal industry are grateful to me for handing them the opportunity to find new work. That is one thing about me I am all about opportunity.

One of my magic cures is called EPA. They have really run with the ball for me. They are finding all kinds of new ways to help small business avoid making the mistakes of the past. Every day they are coming up with new regulations to show small business the way to success. And, along the way, all those fines the levy are a great source of income for my tent show.

The last and greatest of my powerful tools to improve everyone's life is called "taxmegeddon".  It has all those evil Republican witch doctors quaking in their boots. Once my subjects anoint me for another four years I can be as intractable as I want. I will own those contrary little Republicans. I might even appoint myself Dear Leader for Life. It worked for my buddy Ugo. That sounds good to me.

Wait a minute. What's that noise? Why is that guy hooking up that wrecker to my tent? Hey he's starting to pull my tent down. What does that say on the wrecker door? Oh no, it says "Romney's Repair Service".

Random Thoughts - Twelve

I cannot support a professional football team that wears pastels. C'mon guys!

A few thoughts on the morning after the final (thank God) debate:

     Bob Schieffer was far and away the best of the moderators.

     Barack Obama still got more time than Mitt Romney, as he did in all three debates.

     Romney came across as presidential and adult.

     Obama came across as rude, snarky, and mean.

     Close on points, but in the end I felt Romney came out looking far better.


Confession; Every once in a while I flipped over to the football game. Two reasons. I like football and my brain was starting to hurt after watching three previous debates.

Suggestion; Two debates. One three hour debate with an intermission for president. One two hour debate for VP.

It is only two weeks to what I consider the most important election of my lifetime. I truly feel that the future of our country and the quality of life for the next generation rests on the results. I hope all voters see it that way. I also hope that the illustrious politicians to whom we have entrusted this great nation realize just where they have left us. They should all be ashamed.

Obama's greatest talent in the debates was to speak as if he had all of the facts and planning stored in his head and was speaking as the final authority, when, in fact, he was wrong about so many things. He was wrong on the military's needs, sequestration, Benghazi, etc. But the question is, was he wrong because he made a mistake or was he lying?. Either case is bad.

While we are on the president, I remember every president since FDR. I do not remember any president who so loved the sound of his own voice that he would bombast some place every day and get it covered on TV. Silence will be golden.

I admit that I get annoyed as I see the country speeding toward financial collapse and I hear people voting for president based on gay marriage or free contraception for women.

Squeeze Play

Back in 1970 the government formed the Occupational Safety and Health Agency, commonly known as OSHA.  They were given the right to send their inspectors into businesses to be sure that they were operating in a safe manner and protecting their employees from harm. 

At the time I was working in the electrical industry. It appeared that there was going to be a great deal of OSHA's enforcement focusing on my business. As they were putting on seminars all over the country to explain to those interested the purpose and methods of OSHA. I took it upon myself to attend one. It was quite an experience.

The young engineer giving the seminar seemed very well versed in the rules and regulations of OSHA. He did not seem to know much about business in general. As he detailed the list of failings they  would be looking for in the businesses they inspected he also gave a list of the fines that could be accrued. The fines seemed rather steep. I did ask two questions. First, "Are the fines going to happen on the initial visit?". Second, "What if the business cannot afford these fines?".

The answer to the first was that the fines would be immediate. There would be no attempt to help the business fix any problems. The answer to the second was "I'm sure they can get a loan to cover the fines or they will have to close their doors". Wow, that was informational.

I realized at that point that OSHA was not about safety or health, It was a profit center. It was just another way for the government to squeeze money from business for politicians to spend. The insatiable appetite of the non-productive class to spend other peoples money strikes again.

Today we have an EPA gone wild. They are doing the same type of thing but to an even greater degree. They are grabbing control of peoples private land if they have standing water or a ditch along a road. If you use soap to wash your car in your own driveway and that soapy water runs off your driveway watch out for the EPA.

The EPA is increasing control on mines. Particularly coal mines. Thousands of coal miners are being put out of work in areas where coal mining is the only work available. Unfortunately, in this case it is as much ideology as money.

We are losing control of the government and the government is gaining control over the citizens and destroying business en route. This is wrong. The group that is supposed to prevent this, the congress, has allowed themselves to be neutered. Those that see and understand this must spread the word. We are citizens, not subjects. There are those that would trade their rights for a cradle to grave nanny government. They are wrong. There is no greater end than personal freedom.

Promises, Promises

When I was a young lad of eleven years, there was something that I wished to do that my mother was against. That was not an uncommon situation in our house. I was a typical boy and my mother was very overprotective. She was also extremely controlling and manipulative. She knew how to push all the right buttons. In those days few women worked outside the home. It was common for a woman to get dressed up and take the bus downtown and go "shopping". In the midst of our mental tug of war, that is exactly what my mother did. She arrived home toting a bunch of bags from various downtown stores shortly after I got home from school.

As she entered the house she cried out in a cheery voice, "I bought you something". I was a little kid. I liked it when people bought me things. So my immediate response was "What?".
"I'm not going to tell you, but it is really nice" was her answer. "It's something you are going to love." Suddenly I realized this was not a loving gift from Mom. Instead, we were in negotiations. "Give up that idea we discussed and you can have it." she said. To make a very long story short, she won. She made that gift sound as if it were a bag of gold coins. It was a wallet. I didn't need a wallet. I didn't even want a wallet. I got conned. Hey, I was only eleven. I agreed, I was told, and you can't go back on an agreement. Game, set, match. I lost.

So here we sit, four years into the Obama administration. Four years ago we were given a whole bunch of promises. Peace would reign in the middle east, unemployment would be down to six percent, there would be no lobbyists in the administration, politics would be transparent, this would be a post racial administration, that the deficit would be reduced and on and on. Just how many of those promises have been brought to fruition. By my count, that would be exactly none.

Then we have been through the last two years of campaigning (actually, I think it is four years) interspersed with rounds of golf, expensive vacations, and campaign trips on Air Force One. We have listened to endless speeches about how difficult the job is, how his inability to achieve results toward keeping any of his promises is someone else's fault, usually George Bush, and how, in spite of what we see with our own eyes, the future is bright. Really folks, just another four years and another five hundred billion dollars and you can have it all.

Just let him keep borrowing money that we have to borrow to pour into bottomless rat holes, keep covering up for terrorists, keep governing like a despot with no respect for the rule of law or the constitution, and keep destroying what little energy base that we have left. Just do that and the promised land will be ours. Promises, promises. Your trying to press our buttons Mr. President, but we are not eleven years old. And frankly you're not as good at it as my mother.

Liar Liar Pants on Fire (A Fantasy)

I woke up this morning and I remembered hearing this interview, but I don't remember where I heard it. It went like this:

Reporter; Mr. President, Benghazi has been an important topic for the past month and we have heard conflicting stories. Can you explain what happened?

POTUS; Well Chris, this is a very complicated situation involving the State Department and the intelligence community. The White House, of course, was never involved. We are doing an in depth investigation right now as we speak. I can tell you this. Our preliminary findings are that Romney lied. And I think I can say with some surety that will also be the final conclusion. But I must remind you once again Romney lied.

Reporter; Thank you Mr. President for that profound analysis. Thank God we have you in the White House. A lesser intellect may not have been able to unravel this complicated problem. Now Sir, this thing called "Fast and Furious" keeps coming up in the lying conservative media. Can you tell us anything about that?

POTUS; Of course I can Chris. As you know, I am more expert on any subject than all of the experts working for me. So I am able to lecture at length about anything you might bring up. "Fast and Furious" was invented by the Bush administration and left in place to embarrass me. But we were able to keep it isolated to the lowest levels of ATF. Of course the White House never knew about this. So this whole thing was created by the misdeeds of a couple of the cleaning personnel at the Phoenix office. The only reason it is still news is because Romney lied.

Reporter; That is truly amazing sir. The lengths that those evil conservatives will go to embarrass your own sacred self is disgusting. There are some misguided individuals out there that claim that you didn't do well in the first debate. Have you any comment?

POTUS; Of course I do Chris. As you know, I am a brilliant and thoughtful person and also extremely polite. I prefer to ponder my answers for a few moments and think about the nuances of the words that I use to frame my profound answers. So it is obvious to me that I won the debate. Especially when you consider that through the whole debate Romney lied.

Reporter; I understand sir. Basking in the light of your brilliance has me practically vibrating with excitement. Sir, have you any comments about theVice President's debate?

POTUS; First, let me say he is a great Vice President. But he gets excited when he is on stage. When ever he goes out in public, we make him wear a dark suit. You know, just in case. Thank God he had one on at the debate. He really didn't want to interrupt so much but he got upset that other guy was getting a chance to talk. We felt that that was unfair as the VP was so much older. Also both Ryan and Romney lied.

Now you must remember that I woke with this interview firmly in my thoughts but I couldn't remember if I actually saw it or if I dreamed it. But it seemed real when compared with most of the reporting I have seen of late.

Timing is Everything

When Mitt Romney started his run for president, I sort of supported him, as I felt that four more years of Obama would be harmful for the country. I was not happy with Romney's campaign style. He was letting the opposition define him without any serious counter-moves  I was so bothered that I wrote an open letter to him on this blog.

 Although I have doubts about the accuracy of polls they can show trends. Romney was losing ground. I did have some thoughts that a man as smart as Romney could not ignore this. A good business man does not let his ego get in the way of his decisions. And above all thing we know Romney is a good business man.

 Along came the debate, Romney cleaned Obama's clock and left him staggering into the ropes. The old Mitt had left the stage and the new Mitt entered stage left and gave a premier performance. Now I think I understand. As has been often said, "timing is everything".

Obama has been the victim of a con job. Romney played the part of a bumbler and Obama's people bought it. They based their constant, ad hominum attacks on that image. In beating on Romney's straw man they completed their own image as people without new ideas that have only a message of berating the opposition. It has made them look small and smug.

Romney's exhibition of quiet competence, knowledge of the facts, plans for the country and good humor during the first debate left the Obama supporters reeling. Romney and the people around him are skilled in the political arena. They have seem many political campaigns peak out a month before the election. I think they have this campaign as timed and scripted as a Broadway musical.

In other words, don't expect anything less out of Romney in the next two debates than he gave in the first. He will come loaded, locked, and ready for bear. ( If you haven't noticed, I like to mix metaphors).

It hasn't been widely publicized, but the Obama's have purchased a beautiful ocean side estate in Hawaii. It is supposed to be ready for them in early January. That gives me thoughts of handwriting on walls or lights at the end of tunnels. I can't decide what metaphor to select. How about just a nice simple aloha. 


Since I finished writing the material above a couple of things have happened. One is the vice-presidential debate. I thought that was one of the most bizarre spectacles that I have seen in politics. Biden, a heart beat away from being president, scares me. Even if you gave them a tie on the debate itself, Biden blew it by his actions. It seems that a lot of people agree.

The second thing is that I got hit with a Trojan Horse virus. And it was a nasty one. It took a number of hours over two days working with the Cox technicians to clean everything up. It not only locked up my computer but also corrupted my anti-virus software and my web browser. I will say that the Cox techs are my heroes. Folks, be careful what you click on. If it has to do with someone un-friending you on facebook, don't do it. As a matter of fact, don't click on anything that you don't initiate.